Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vehicle seat (a seat for vehicles) having anchors that accord with the ISO-FIX standard and can hold an ISO-FIX type child seat.
Description of the Related Art
The ISO-FIX standard is known as international standard of systems for holding child seats to vehicle seats. A vehicle seat is disclosed in, for example, JP 2010-064636A. The vehicle seat has anchors that accord with the ISO-FIX standard and can hold an ISO-FIX type child seat.
The child seat of ISO-FIX type has a pair of engagement members, i.e., left and right engaging members, at the rear part. The engagement members are engaged with anchors. The anchors may be arranged at the rear edge of the seat cushion of a vehicle seat or the lower edge of the seatback thereof.
An anchor is known, which has been formed by bending a wire member (or solid rod member). The anchor has a pair of side bars (i.e., left and right side bars) and a front bar. The left and right side bars extend forwards and parallel to each other. The front bar couples the upper (front) ends of the left and right side bars, and the anchor is substantially U-shaped as seen in the plan view.
The left and right engagement members are extending rearwards. Each engagement member has a bifurcated shape in side view and has, at the rear end, a groove. The front bar of each anchor may be engaged in the groove made in the rear end of the engagement member, to hold the child seat to the vehicle seat.
In most cases, the lower arm of each engagement member is shorter than the upper arm, and may smoothly come into engagement with the front bar of the associated anchor.
The anchors are provided at the rear edge of the seat cushion or the lower edge of the seatback. The seat cushion and the seatback are each composed of a frame (i.e., skeleton member, namely seat cushion frame or seatback frame), a pad made of foamed material such as urethane foam and covering the frame, and a trim cover covering the pad. Recesses in which the anchors are arranged are prepared on the pad. To provide the anchors at the rear edge of, for example, the seat cushion, the seat cushion frame is composed of left and right side frames and two connecting pipes, one connecting front ends of the side frames and the other connecting the rear ends of the side frames. Therefore, the seat cushion frame is a substantially rectangular frame as seen in plan view. The anchors are secured to the rear connecting pipe and arranged in the recesses of the pad at the rear edge of the seat cushion.
If the pad recesses and the anchors arranged in the pad recesses are seen, the outer appearance of the vehicle seat will be impaired. It is therefore proposed that bezels sewn to the pad or secured to the pad with hook rings should cover the pad recesses to hide the pad recesses.
JP 2010-064636A, for example, discloses a configuration in which a pair of bezels, each having a rectangular flange and made of unwoven fabric impregnated with synthetic resin, are attached to the pad recesses, respectively. The left and right parts of the flange of each bezel are sewn at the edges of the trim cover located around the pad recess. The bezels are thereby held in the pad recesses. Each bezel has a slit made in the bottom wall, and the associated anchor projects into the associated bezel through the slit.
JP 2011-121426A discloses a configuration, in which the pad recesses are covered not with bezels, but with a trim cover that has a slide fastener, and the pad recesses are opened when the slider of the slide fastener slides from an upper position to a lower position. The left, right, upper and lower edges of the slide fastener are made of fabric. The left and right edges of the slide fastener are sewn to the terminal of the trim cover. Further, the upper and lower edges of the slide fastener are sewn to the terminal of the trim cover, together with suspension belts. The pad has a pulling-over groove, and the suspension belts hang into the pulling-over groove. A sling wire is stretched in each pad recess.
A hook ring couples the sling wire to the suspension belt. Therefore, the upper and lower edges of the slide fastener and the terminal of the trim cover are pulled into the pulling-over groove and secured to the sling wire. The sling wire is, for example, a wire provided in the seat cushion and extending between the left and right side frames of the seat cushion.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent unexamined Publication JP 2010-064636A
Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent unexamined Publication JP 2011-121426A
In the configuration disclosed in JP 2010-064636A, the flange of each bezel is sewn, at end, to the terminal of the trim cover around the pad recess and secures the terminal of the trim cover. Therefore, the flange of the bezel may move up from the pad, and the occupant or a baggage may hitch the flange of the bezel and turn it over. If the flange of the bezel is turned over, the vehicle seat will be impaired in outer appearance. If a large force is applied to the bezel so turned over, the sewing thread will be cut, and the flange of the bezel will no longer be sewn to the terminal of the trim cover. In this case, the bezel comes out of the pad recess or greatly project from the pad recess. As a result, the flange of the bezel abuts on the buttocks of the occupant, possibly making the occupant feel uncomfortable.
The configuration disclosed in JP 2011-121426A has no bezels. Any problem resulting from a bezel that moves up from the pad will not arise at all. If the slider is moved up and down to open the pad recess, a pulling force is indeed applied to the slide fastener, possibly tearing the slide fastener from the trim cover. Nonetheless, the sling wire receives the pulling force because the suspension belt couples and secures the sewn part to the sling wire. Hence, the slide fastener is hardly torn from the trim cover, and will hardly turn over.
However, the hook ring and the suspension belt are indispensable because they secure the slide fastener to the sling wire. Inevitably, the vehicle seat comprises more independent components than otherwise. Further, since the slide fastener must be fixed to the sling wire, requiring an additional step. This renders the setting process more complex.
As described above, the hook ring and the suspension belt secure the slide fastener to the sling wire. Since this configuration has no bezels, any problem does not arise, which would arise if bezels turned over. Moreover, the slide fastener can hardly turn over because the sling wire receives the pulling force applied to slide the slider. However, the hook ring and the suspension belt are indispensable, increasing the number of components and complicating the setting process.
An object of this invention is to provide a vehicle seat in which the bezels can be fitted in the pad recesses, never moving up to turn over, without increasing the number of components or complicating the setting process.